Prosecutors curtail statements from woman to allow pathologist to testify

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MANILA, Philippines — Prosecutors on Tuesday postponed further testimony from a Filipino woman who claims she was raped by a U.S. Marine and instead presented a forensic expert.

The 22-year-old woman, who punched her alleged assailant in court Monday, had been expected to continue her testimony for a third day Tuesday in the trial.

But prosecutors told the court they wanted forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun to testify Tuesday because her tight schedule might not allow her to appear at another time.

Fortun testified that a police lab exam that found no traces of semen on the condom purportedly used in the alleged assault or on the woman’s underwear was an “old” procedure no longer used in modern forensics.

“It is believed unreliable,” said Fortun, who trained in the Philippines and the United States and had served as forensic pathologist for the United Nations in East Timor and Sierra Leone.

Fortun testified that a medical examination administered after the alleged rape indicated the woman had sustained injuries consistent with nonconsensual sex.

Under questioning by a defense lawyer, Fortun said the woman’s injuries were unlikely caused by any disease. Defense lawyers will continue their cross-examination of Fortun when the trial resumes Thursday.

On Monday, the woman hit defendant Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith with her fists and handbag as she headed toward the witness stand in the packed courtroom.

“She is holding up,” her psychiatrist, Dr. June Pagaduan-Lopez, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “She is now expressing her anger instead of blaming herself.”

Smith, 21, of St. Louis, was sitting with co-accused Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis, while Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier was seated with defense lawyers. The three others also are charged in the case for allegedly cheering Smith on.

If convicted, all four face up to 40 years in prison.

The Marines have refused to answer the rape charges, prompting the judge to enter an innocent plea for them. Defense lawyers insist Smith had consensual sex with the woman.

The woman has testified that she was intoxicated on the night of Nov. 1 while dancing with her sister at a bar when Smith grabbed her by the wrist to dance. She said that she’d continued to drink and was then forced out of the bar on Smith’s back.

She said the next thing she remembers was Smith lying on top of her, kissing her.